Hey All - I typically finish eating by 7/8 at night and donāt eat until about 10/11 the next day so thatās around 8-9hours of āfastingā. I was wondering if there is benefits to longer fasting periods and what they truly are/if itās beneficial.
Thanks!
That sounds like 14-16 hours of fasting, and expanding the window after dinner and before the next day first meal is how many folks begin their fasting journeys.
Short answer to your question: yes lots of benefits to longer fasting periods. Take a look around the forum to get a ton more information. IF = intermittent fasting; EF = extended fasting
Excellent book for beginner fasters āComplete Guide to Fastingā by Jimmy Moore and Dr Jason Fung. I recommend it to my clients and the find it very helpful as do I.
Listen to Megan Ramosā talks on 2ketodudes and Fasting Talk podcasts. She explains the benefits very well. And she has walked the walk, down 80 lbs. and getting healthier everyday. I also second the idea of reading Complete Guide to Fasting.
To name a few:
Helps lower insulin
Very very extended fasts help starve tumors that rely on glucose to survive (many types of cancer do)
Sometimes you just donāt feel like eating
Itās pretty convenient if youāve got this or that to work on, saves time
Some things to do with insulin resistanceā¦ Alzheimerās, diabetes (type 2; if on medication consult doctor and be very careful), etc because your insulin goes down as you fast
Autophagy - after 48 hours or so your body begins āself eatingā stored away broken protein for use, recycling them or throwing away what canāt be used.
Iām sure there are plenty more, and I didnāt go into the true detail of how each thing works exactly, but can if needed. Thatās just what comes to mind in 15 or so seconds, lol.
Echoing Megan Ramos suggestion, plus I believe the Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung also talks a lot about it (thatās his whole thing after all).
Basically if you feel like you want to fast longer than 16 hours go ahead and do it. Make sure you keep water and salt/magnesium/potassium up during the fast, and if you donāt feel well and are concernedā¦ just eat. Also important that you have sufficient levels (and access to) fat stores. E.g. more lean people may need to supplement with fat during a fast, or do shorter fasts.
Going to add the caveat: āBased on the studies Iāve seenā for basically all of theseā¦ Iām no expert/doctor and am recalling these from memory so I could be misremembering, and if so please feel free to point it out!
Iām on day 49, water and salt mostly. Did a few vitamin/mineral supplements on days 31 to 36. I can unequivocally say I have experienced many benefits. Mostly mental, some physical. Personally I think the sweet spot is somewhere in the 3 to 5 day window for the optimal mix of physical and mental benefits.
Even just restricting your feeding window can be helpful if you donāt want to do anything as different as a multi day fast. I wouldnāt go any lower than four hours on the feeding window though, as youāll have a tough time getting in a full days calories in anything less than that IMO.
āThe Complete Guide to Fastingā mentioned earlier in this thread is a great resource too.
Intermittent fasting is worth exploring. Dr. Fung has many interviews and presentations available on YouTube
I was following Dr Berg and Dr Fung. I then came across Stephanie Keto Girl on YT. Sheās a personal trainer and has been on keto 10 years. Sheās coached 2,000 ppl on keto. I like some of her ideas. If you are stuck, She has great ideas for getting unstuck, so maybe this will help.
Keep up the keto, my good ppl!
Absolutely agree except it took too long for me to figure that out. Thanks for posting that!
